The Lichfield Group

This article appeared in the March 29, 2005 issue of the Washington Times.

The rule of law dictated the withdrawal of nutrition and hydration in the wrenching Terri Shiavo litigation. Detractors of the final court decision, that scrupulously honored Florida’s “right to die” statute and the United States Constitution, would reduce the rule of law to a restricted railroad ticket, good for this day and train only. Civil strife would become endemic, as each disappointed group in controversial litigation would rebel against court decrees regarding such matters as abortion, school prayer, the right to die, the death penalty, same-sex marriage, civil rights, or otherwise. As Thomas Hobbes lamented, life in such a state of nature would be poor, brutish, nasty, and short—a war of all against all.

Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid (D. Nev.), is ocular evidence of the Democratic Party’s brain death.

Standing on the U.S. Capitol Steps last week like Horatio at the Bridge in 360 A.D., the wizened Senator fretted that a funeral for the Republic impended. According to Mr. Reid, the Constitution would come to an end and absolute power would stalk the nation if a majority of Senators vote to guarantee the President’s judicial nominees a floor vote on confirmation. The Minority Leader’s alarmist fulmination responded to Majority Leader Bill Frist’s (R. Tenn.) vow to end the Democrat filibustering of judges. The practice unconstitutionally encroaches on the President’s power to appoint under Article II by raising the confirmation threshold to 60.

Baltimore Orioles’ owner Peter Angelos is scheming with Major League Baseball (MLB) to deny the Washington Nationals customary television broadcasting rights to enrich his own regional sports network. Angelos hopes to crush a competitor, not on the playing field, but by backroom machinations. If he succeeds, satellite and cable providers will pay a $2-3 surcharge per subscriber to obtain broadcast rights from Angelos, a cost that will correspondingly hike monthly fees for customers of Comcast, Starpower, DirectTV and Dish Network in the District of Columbia. Congress should strip MLB of its unique exemption from the antitrust laws if the Washington Nationals are withheld tens of millions in broadcast revenues indispensable to competing in an era of free agency.

President George W. Bush and Republican Senators should learn from Justice Anthony Kennedy’s preposterous opinion last week in Roper v. Simmons (March 1, 2005) holding unconstitutional the death penalty for loathsome murders perpetrated by juveniles younger than 18. Transforming the Supreme Court from airbrush artistry to principled reasoning in constitutional interpretation—from the rule of whim to the rule of law—will require appointments modeled after Bork, Scalia, or Thomas. Pastel versions will accomplish little or nothing.